Large-Scale Solar Series for Planners and Municipal Officials #4: Community benefit agreements

Wednesday, July 30, 2025, 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM

Host community benefit agreements can be used to return financial benefits from large-scale renewable energy projects into the community they're sited in -- to help pay for everything from playgrounds and new trails to emergency response equipment. Presenters will cover how these agreements work and who can/should be part of them. They will also talk about how to use payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreements to disincentivize siting these projects on active and/or prime farmland and earmark some of those payments to benefit specific community groups, including the ag community that is often directly affected by them.

Instructor's bios: Matthew Eisenson is a Senior Fellow leading the Renewable Energy Legal Defense Initiative at Columbia Law School's Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, where, among other things, he has conducted research into best practices for host community benefit agreements for clean air projects. Joe Lawrence is Cornell PRO-DAIRY’s Dairy Forage Crop Production System Specialist who also spends a considerable amount of time helping communities navigate large-scale renewable energy projects. In addition, he has been active on Lewis County's Industrial Development Agency, where he helped them rewrite their solar PILOT policy to disincentivize siting projects on ag land. Christie Gross is the Director of Clean Connect Strategies, which helps build political and community support for clean energy projects, including supporting local groups and countering misinformation often used to block projects.